Virgin America begins Dallas routes

Virgin America began flights to Dallas on Wednesday, the first mid-continent route for the airline.

The service began with a Dallas-to-Los Angeles route. A Dallas-to-San Francisco route starts Dec. 6.

Dallas is the carrier’s twelfth city across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

By entering Dallas, Virgin America will spark a battle with American Airlines, which operates about three-fourths of the flights through DFW.

Virgin America said it wanted to start Dallas service to attract business travelers, a coveted group in the airline industry because they tend to book last minute flights and pay higher fares.

On a growth push, Virgin America said it plans to expand to three to four new cities annually until 2016.

Mexican stewardesses launch sexy calendar

A dozen flight attendants who lost their jobs when Mexicana Airlines filed for bankruptcy and suspended operations two months ago, posed for a pin-up calendar in a an effort to call attention to their own plight.

Each month features flight attendants barely dressed in bikinis or aviation suits against airline-themed backgrounds.

“We have families to feed and this was an amazing opportunity to change my line of work. I love the avaiation industry but love being a model too”, 26-year-old Maribel Zavala told wire services.

The calendar has sparked a media frenzy in Mexico, and the first run of 1,000 was sold out even before Thursday's launch. A second edition of 3,000 calendars - which retail for 149 pesos, or about $12, apiece - is in the works.

Founded in 1921, Mexicana was one of the oldest airlines on the American continent and used to serve 65 destinations in Mexico, the United States, and Europe.

See more photos of the Mexican flight attendants here

Christmas Tree Lighting 2010 at Rockefeller Center

New York City - Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, 11/30/2010